Sermon Central
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Your Spiritual Game Plan
Contributed by Mark Engler on Dec 7, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: We devise all these plans. Plans to win ball games, plans to succeed in life, and for our children to succeed, and plans to live good when we retire. What about a plan that will help us grow spiritually? Do you have a spiritual game plan? What about a
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By: Mark Engler, Mt. Vernon Christian Church, Mt. Vernon, MO
This Sermon is part outline and part full-text and adapted from a former sermon of mine.
Your Spiritual Game Plan
Col. 3:1-4
Prop: You can’t expect growth unless you plan for it.
INTRO:
Ø Talk about games plans for basketball, football, baseball
Ø Talk about game plans for life.
o Girls planning and dreaming about their wedding.
o When you have children you form some kind of plan in raising your children.
o In our jobs or careers we devise plans that will help us climb the ladder that will lead us to success.
o We sock away money so we’ll have a good nest egg when we retire.
§ Bill Weber’s idea about if a 18 year old had 8,000.00 when he was 18 and if he/she didn’t spend the money on a car or something like that and saved it in a retirement plan until he/she was ready to retire they would have over 1 million dollars to retire on.
Ø We devise all these plans. Plans to win ball games, plans to succeed in life, and for our children to succeed, and plans to live good when we retire.
Ø What about a plan that will help us grow spiritually? Do you have a spiritual game plan?
Ø What about a plan that will bring others into the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Ø Why don’t we have plans for that? Why do we wander around aimlessly when it comes to maturity in Christ and when it comes to reaching the lost people of this community, state, country, and world?
Ø Where’s our plan?
Ø I hear of people saying that they are not growing spiritually. There has been at least one person leaving this church and there have been people leave churches all over the country because they say they are not growing spiritually.
Ø For some of that the church and church leaders are to blame, but I believe a major part of it is because people just don’t put any effort into their spiritual lives.
o They don’t go to Sunday school
o They don’t go to any Bible Studies
§ One reason I have heard in the past for not going to these things is because they are too boring.
§ Well, do you participate? Do you speak up? Do you ask questions when you have them?
§ Bible study and Sunday school is not so much what the teacher puts into them, as it is what the students put into them. The students are what really makes the class, not so much the teacher.
Ø Read Col. 3:1-3
Things To Do:
1. Set Your Hearts on Things Above, vs. 1
The first thing he says to do is “Set your hearts on things above.” I think what Paul is saying here is to seek the things above, matter of fact the NASB I believe says those very words. He’s saying seek what is above first, get what is really important in your lives in control then everything else will fall into place.
Mt. 6:33 says; “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…” If our priorities are set in the right order we will be seeking God and His kingdom first.
Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is
near.” Acts 17:27 says; “….they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (NASB)
Ø What grope means “To feel about with or as with the hands, as in the dark; to look for uncertainly and blindly.” According to Webster’s Dictionary.
We should seek God with no regard to anything else, seeking Him blindly. He should be put on a pedestal so high in our life that nothing else comes before Him.
In Hebrews Paul talks about people putting other things before God and in Hebrews 10:24 & 25 he says this; “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some…”
You see if we are seeking God, if you are groping for God, we will not forsake coming together in this church assembly. We will not forsake our meeting together for it is opportunity for us stimulate others, to encourage others and to get that ourselves. And it’s our set apart time to come and give praise, honor and glory to God the creator of heaven and earth.
Sub Point 2. Also in seeking God it is of the utmost importants that we are in God’s Word. How can a person be seeking God and becoming spiritually mature unless we are reading God’s instructions.
